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Information about trenitalia from Rome airport to Florence

I went on the trenitalia website and could not determine how to get a ticket to go from Rome airport to Florence. Could someone give me some information about what stations to put in and how to book the ticket?

To travel this route with Trenitalia, you have to travel on one train from Rome airport (FCO) to Roma Termini (the main station in Rome) and then switch to a train to Firenze SMN.

The train between the airport and Rome is either a local commuter train or the special Leonardo Express that shuttles between airport and Rome. They must be purchased separately from Rome-Florence because they are on different train systems. You might not be able to purchase online too far ahead, nor with any benefit, in any case.

Purchasing ahead for Rome-Florence might get you significant discounts, but if you are traveling after June 15 the schedules are not yet loaded online.

The Leonardo Express is a Trenitalia regionale train. There is no advantage to booking ahead. Buy a ticket at FCO and hop on the next train. Trains depart at 8 and 38 minutes past the hour and the ride takes 32 minutes. The fare is €14.00.

By booking ASAP (up to 120 days allowed) on the Trenitalia site you can get a Super Economy fare of €19.00 for Roma Termini-Firenze S. M. Novella. However, that ticket is non-exchangeable and non-refundable. If your plane is late and you miss the train, your ticket is worthless. Because you can't guarantee that your plane will arrive on time, I suggest that you buy a standard 2nd class fare ticket (€43.00) at the station at FCO when you buy your ticket for the Leonardo Express. Depending upon the time of day, trains run 2-4 times/hour.

We just got back from italy and had to do exactly what you are asking about. I agree with TimS, (the advice we were given when I asked the question) - just book the ticket when you arrive at the Rome airport. I know it sounds a bit unnerving - but it is pretty painless.

When you land in Rome there are customer service desks where the folks speak English and will point you towards the Leonardo Express - its a train that takes you to the Rome train station - Termini. There is a ticket office right there. We purchased our Leonardo Express tickets and our train tickets from Termini to Firenze S.M.N (the main train station in Florence) at the same time.

The gal we worked with spoke little English (and we spoke little Italian) - but it worked out fine.

There are scanners before you walk into the area where the Express picks up - just be sure to run each ticket through the scanner.

Now - once you get to Termini - don't fret. It is BIG and a bit overwhelming - at least it was for us. The platform number for your train to Firenze S.M.N. may not show up on the board until 10 minutes before it arrives. It took us a while to figure this out - but we, by chance, learned that there is also customer service reps who speak English right in the terminal. Go towards the #1 train platform and you'll see them sitting in these little kiosks. They can help you decipher your ticket.

The stations you put in are Fiumicino aeroporto and Firenze S M Novella, but you don't want to buy the airport ticket in advance ever (it restricts it to a time block of 90 minutes). It's also not usually advised to buy the Rome/Florence tickets in advance in case the flight is delayed.

After you exit baggage claim, just follow the train signs (pics of a train) to the station at FCO. It's simple. You can buy tickets there in machines, from a ticket window or from a tabacchi.

You can also take the regional airport train from the airport to Rome' Tiburtina station and connect there with trains to Florence - much cheaper than the Leonardo Express to Termini and easier - you may get cheaper fares at times on trains going to Florence from Tiburtina than from Roma Termini - the main station in Rome.

If you want to take a regional train to Florence as I recently did you will pay a pittance for it but it will take 2.5 to 3.5 hours vs 1.25-1.5 hours on fast train from Termini - but it is a worry-free and cheap way to go to Florence without having to do any planning - flat fares on each segment - buy the ticket after landing - nice when landing and when you may not known when you will get to Termini and if doing the discount ticket route - since these tcikets are non-refundable and non-changeable then you have to build a lot of fudge factor time between projected landing and actual time you can get on the train in Termini - but you can just deboard and take the local train to Tiiburtina station and hop the next regional train to Florence- may bve a good worry-free choice - I have taken regional trains Rome to Florence several times and they were just fine.